Belief in Child Bearing
Article by Angel Lingzhibelle Jasmin
A pregnant woman must not sit on the steep of the stairs. If she does, she will have trouble bearing forth her child. This belief is almost universal. Its origin is easily understood. The steep of the stairs common in twins are made of two parallel baboo bars with small spaces between. These small spaces, they say influences the size of the organ of production in the females so that they have to avoid as much as possible this bad habit. A midwife can tell there would be a child; whether a boy or a girl. If the nipples of the mother are round and gray with black spots which they call “binuauaya” the child is a boy.
If a mother will bear her child at night, the whole neighborhood goes to her aid. In the night, the bad spirits roam around and the people fear that the mother may be the object of the mischief of these imps. They are however afraid of the light. Usually, when a child is to be born at night, torches are lighted up during the whole night under the house. The people going for the midwife must carry torches and make as much noise as possible to frighten away the mischievous spirits.
The midwife or the other hand must and never answer at the first and second call of those who came to conduct her. Many time, they say the evil spirit calls upon the midwife to hide her so that when the people who really want her to attend a pregnant woman, she would be securely hidden by the spirits.
At the third or fourth call, she will look out of her window and ask the name of all the people who come to conduct her to make sure that they are really people. It ought to be remembered that Sianake also speak and appear like people. When she is sure that she is not fooled, she must make them go upstairs and let them chew buyo— each one of them. After this, she can go. At her return home, she is not accompanied. This practice has passed into a proverb— "To be conducted like a midwife" is to be treated well when they want something from you and to be neglected after your service.
The placenta of the child influences the sharpness of the child's mind. If the placenta is buried as it is, the child will have a dull head. If it is buried in a coconut shell full of newspaper and torn-leaves from books, the child will become a learned man.
If the placenta is put in a bamboo internode filled with ashes from the store and tied up in an alagan tree, the child will be an eminent thinker. Care must however be taken that this is not discovered by crows and hawks which often scratch it and eat it. In this case, the child will be empty-headed.
If the older children are always quarreling, the placenta of the late child is dried. When the baby is some two or three months old, the placenta is roasted and eaten with soft boiled rice called “silugao”. After this, the children will love each other well. So much for the bearing of the child. There are more points of observance but they are minor ceremonies.
References
https://nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph/OB01/NLPOBMN0037003146/bs/datejpg.htm